Novikke tilted her head. “Which Ardanians?”
“No idea. Last I saw, she was shielding a small group of them while they retreated.”
“Was Thala with them?”
“I don’t know. I don’t think so. I saw her still fighting when I left.”
“What about Theros?”
“I don’t know, Novikke. It doesn’t matter. I’ve got this now, remember?” He conjured a candle-sized flame on his finger as he turned and started into the trees behind them. “This way.”
Novikke quickly scrubbed her sword clean with a clump of grass. Aruna watched her.
“Where did you get this sword?” he asked.
She looked up at him nervously. A part of her wondered if he’d be angry with her about what had just happened. She was wiping Varai blood off her sword, after all.
Maybe he was thinking the same thing, though, because he didn’t look angry. He looked lost. How was one supposed to feel after something like this? They were alive, but there were no winners here. There was no triumph.
She sheathed the sword at her hip. “I think you know where I got it, don’t you?”
He gave her a look that was difficult to interpret. “Yes,” he admitted.
She trudged past him, following Neiryn. He fell into step behind her.
“I’m not giving it back,” she said.
There was a pause that she interpreted as confusion. “Did you think I would try to take it from you?”
She had thought he might. It was a Varai weapon. Maybe it was right for it to remain in Varai hands.
On the other hand, maybe she deserved it as compensation for having to endure Zaiur.
“There’s no one to give it back to, anyway,” Aruna said slowly. “Is there?”
“No, there isn’t.”
She kept walking, but Aruna caught her arm. “What happened?”
She shook her head. She didn’t want to relive it just yet. “I’ll tell you later.”
“Are you all right?”
She took in the crease between his brows and the nervous downturn of his lips. His hand slid down to hers. At the contact, her breath caught. Desire that she’d been carefully suppressing for the past few days rose to the forefront of her mind and stirred in various parts of her body. His eyes suddenly seemed very intense, his hands warm. The pause stretched.
She silently admonished herself. It wasn’t the right time for this.
It was never the right time.
“I’m fine,” she said eventually. “Now I am, that is. I was worried that we wouldn’t find you before they…”
His eyebrows rose a tiny bit.
“What?” she said.
“Nothing.” He looked down at her hand, squeezing it.
“I didn’t know what they would do to someone like you. Someone who has… broken laws,” she said charitably, because calling him a criminal or a traitor wasn’t right.
“Nothing good. And nothing I don’t deserve, probably.”
“What are you doing?” Neiryn said from far ahead. “Are you waiting for some Varai archers to skewer you from afar? I’ll leave you to it, if so.”
“We’re coming,” Novikke said, and kept walking. Aruna let go of her hand, to her disappointment.
“Novikke,” he said as he started walking behind her again. “Your… head sickness.”
“Yeah?”
“Nothing happened just now. During the fighting. I thought it would.”
Her steps slowed as she thought about that. She realized that she’d not felt her Panic much for some time, and not at all during the fight. It was as if she’d been so focused that she’d forgotten to be afraid.
She might have laughed if it hadn’t been sad. She’d been barred from fighting because of her Panic, but just now had been the most serious fight she’d ever been in, and the Panic hadn’t even been an issue.
“You’re right,” she said. “But that doesn’t mean it’s gone. It’s never gone. I was just lucky this time.”
Aruna shrugged as if he didn’t quite agree.
Suddenly, a figure stepped out of the darkness near them. Novikke stopped short in surprise.
Kadaki looked at all of them, her eyes lingering on Aruna. She frowned, but waved them over. “Come. Hurry up.” She stepped back and disappeared into thin air.
Chapter 9
They followed Kadaki through an invisible threshold where the air thickened and wavered. And then, in the space in front of them, a small camp was revealed.
Novikke was relieved to see Thala and Aleka sitting by a modest campfire. She was less relieved to see Vissarion sitting across from them. Their clothes and armor were damaged and bloodied. The mood was somber all around. But they were alive.
There was a tense pause as they entered the circle. The Ardanians watched them warily, as if waiting for another attack, and the three of them watched right back. Novikke was the first to clear her throat and speak, and once she had, the tension broke.
“Illusion magic?” she asked, looking up at the trees. Their surroundings looked the same as they had before they’d passed through the barrier, but the light from the fire, and all the people sitting around it, couldn’t be seen from the outside.
“Yes. It’ll hide us for a few hours, at least.” Kadaki sat down on a fallen log next to Thala, resting her chin in her hand. Her eyelids drooped, like she could hardly keep them open. Spellcasting could be very tiring, Novikke heard.
Neiryn went to sit beside her. He smiled when Kadaki looked up. Novikke saw the corners of her lips twitch upward before she studiously pressed them down again.
“We’re the only survivors?” Novikke said.
“I saw Theros heading west with a few others,” Thala said. “They may have made it.”
“Then it’s just us for now.”
“Looks like it,” Thala said. She gave Novikke a half-smile. “I’m glad you’re all okay,” she said. Her voice rose up at the end, almost a question. Her tone was soft, apologetic. A little of the tension in Novikke’s shoulders lifted.
“Likewise,” Novikke said. She held out her hands. “Please tell me that one of you has the keys to our handcuffs.”
There were shrugs from Aleka and Kadaki. Thala looked at Vissarion, who stiffened.
He gave Novikke a reproachful look. “What makes you think you’re suddenly free to go? This doesn’t change anything.”
“Yes, it does,” Thala said, rolling her eyes. “Just unlock them, Vissarion.”
“I won’t be responsible for what happens if—”
“We’re all in the same predicament here,” Thala said. “We’ll be better off if we work together. I’d rather have friends helping us than prisoners looking for ways to work against us.”
“Oh, we’re not friends,” Neiryn cut in. “I don’t befriend Ardanians, and I definitely don’t befriend Varai.”
“Temporary allies, then,” Thala said. “Aruna, we need to find a way out of Kuda Varai, and we can’t do it without a guide. We’re at your mercy. Will you help us?” From her intonation, it was a real question—she wasn’t sure whether he would agree.
Aruna looked surprised. It was probably the first time Thala had addressed him directly. That, and he was probably used to demands and orders from humans, not requests.
“Yes,” he said.
“Thank you. That’s more than most people in your position would do,” she said. “In that case, I’m sure Vissarion will be grateful to have you with us.”
Vissarion stayed seated, crossing his arms.
“I could take the keys from your corpse, if you prefer,” Neiryn said.
Vissarion pointed a finger in Neiryn’s direction. “You see? That’s exactly the kind of thing I’m talking about.”
Neiryn stood up, summoning a ball of flame in front of him. Vissarion jumped so hard that he nearly tipped over backward. Neiryn smirked.
“All right!” Vissarion said. “Fine. Just wait…” He righted himself, digging in a pocket, then
produced a key which he threw across the fire at Neiryn. Neiryn caught it and unlocked himself, then handed the key to Novikke.
Novikke turned to Aruna, who silently raised his wrists to allow her access to the locks.
“Wait a minute,” Vissarion said. “We didn’t agree to release the night elf.”
Novikke paused to give him an impatient look. “Do you believe he’ll be inclined to help us while he’s still in chains, Vissarion?”
“I don’t much care what he’s inclined to do.”
“How do you suppose we’re going to survive in Kuda Varai without him?”
“I’d just as soon take my chances when the alternative is getting ambushed by night elves again.”
Novikke ignored him and slid the key into the lock on Aruna’s right wrist. Vissarion got to his feet and took a step toward them, hand on the hilt of his sword. Novikke stopped, startled. Her hand twitched toward her sword.
“He’s not your friend, Novikke. Everyone here knows it except you. He’s playing you. He’ll give us away to the other night elves.”
“The other Varai are gone,” Novikke said.
“Gone?” Thala repeated.
She nodded.
“Then he’ll find some other way to hinder us, like he’s been doing for the entire time he’s been with us,” Vissarion said. Aruna tilted his head away from him in exasperation, but still said nothing. Vissarion looked around at the others. “Have you all lost your minds? We’re still Ardanians. Have you forgotten that?”
Novikke turned the key in the lock, freeing one of Aruna’s hands.
Vissarion started toward them, and Novikke looked up, suddenly flushed with anger and out of patience. She snapped. “Touch him and I’ll kill you.”
Vissarion paused. He scoffed, giving her a look that suggested he did not at all believe she could do such a thing. But when no one came to his aid—again—he returned to his seat, still glaring at them.
Novikke’s heart was racing from the rush of anger. She felt dizzy and sick. The Panic she’d avoided during the fight seemed to be gradually catching up with her. Ignoring it didn’t seem to be helping.
She finished unlocking Aruna. He took the loose cuffs and tossed them into the trees, then took the key from her and unlocked her own cuffs. They fell to the ground with a clang.
“Why aren’t you saying anything?” Vissarion said, jerking his chin in Aruna’s direction. “Did your translator run out of magic? Or is it because you’re hiding something?”
Aruna raised an eyebrow at him. He glanced around at the others, who were all watching, before replying. “What could I say that you would want to hear?”
“You could tell us how those other night elves found us.”
Aruna breathed a laugh. “What do you mean? Were you trying to be stealthy? All thirty of you?”
Vissarion glared. Behind him, Thala spoke up.
“I, uh, was wondering that, too, actually,” she said.
Aruna gave them an incredulous look. “You know that Varai live in Kuda Varai, yes?” he said slowly. “We watch the forest. We know what happens here. Did you really plan to spend weeks crashing through the forest and not think anyone would take notice?”
“There shouldn’t have been so many of them all at once,” Vissarion countered. “Not so suddenly. This was a planned ambush. They must have been tracking us for some time. You never warned us. You must have noticed them before now.”
“Varai are not as noisy as humans are. We didn’t see them because they didn’t want to be seen.”
“How do we know you didn’t bring them here?”
“How would I do that?”
Vissarion had no answer to that, but he still looked unsatisfied.
“How many times did I advise you to leave?” Aruna said. “Imagine where you’d be if you’d listened. Not down from thirty to five, I think.”
Vissarion glowered. He turned to the others. “You’re all fine with this?”
Thala pursed her lips. Aleka was frowning, concerned. Kadaki blinked slowly, halfway to sleep.
“Novikke trusts him,” Thala said. “And I trust Novikke.”
“I don’t see why,” Vissarion said. “Novikke has proven herself far from trustworthy.”
“You’ve got little other choice,” Thala said. “You’re starving and you’re still biting the hand that’s trying to feed you.”
Vissarion shot Aruna and Novikke an unhappy look, but said nothing.
Aruna hovered at Novikke’s side at the edge of the illusion, casting an uncertain eye over the others.
“My collar?” he asked Kadaki.
“Oh. Yes. Come here.” She dug another key out of her pocket. Aruna bent and pulled his hair away to let her reach the collar. She unlocked it, and it fell open in his hands. He pulled it away from himself, looked at it, then tossed it into the trees with his handcuffs.
“Hey, those are expensive,” Aleka said with half-hearted disapproval. Aruna gave him a tired glance.
They all watched him, like they were waiting for him to do something other than stand there. He sat down a few paces away from the others, on a patch of dirt near the fire. Novikke sat across from him.
No one talked. Novikke wondered if that had something to do with their arrival, or if no one had wanted to speak even before then.
“Can I ask you something?” Kadaki said tentatively, breaking a long silence. She was looking at Aruna.
His eyes darted over to hers, surprised and wary again. “Yes.” He sounded like he’d rather have said no.
“How do you navigate in Kuda Varai? You seem to have no trouble, but no human has ever been able to do it, as far as I know.”
“It’s not something I can teach, if that’s what you’re hoping.”
“I don’t want to know how to do it. I want to know how you do it,” she said. “I plan to write a paper about all this when I get back to Valtos. The Conclave would love more information about Kuda Varai. We know so little about it. Just in the time we’ve been here, we’ve observed more of the forest than any other human has in decades.”
“And you think I’ll be glad to volunteer more information about it?” he said flatly. “So that your generals can use it against us later?”
Kadaki looked startled. “No. I didn’t mean that.”
From the way the annoyance drained from his face, Novikke guessed he believed her. “It’s what will happen, regardless of your intention,” he said.
“I have a question,” Aleka said, and Aruna turned to him, frowning. “Why do you and Novikke know each other? How did you meet? What happened before you got here?”
“And where did she get that burn on her arm?” Vissarion added.
Novikke began to answer before Aruna could. “That’s not—”
“We know each other because several weeks ago I intercepted her on the road through the south end of Kuda Varai and took her captive,” Aruna said.
Novikke stiffened. The circle went silent.
“The burn was put there by one of our mages, who I killed a few minutes ago,” he added, as if he hadn’t said enough. Novikke gave him a look that she hoped communicated how much she wanted him to stop.
“So what happened between then and now?” Thala said carefully.
Aruna looked at Novikke, saying nothing. He was just going to leave it to her to solve the problem he’d created, then. Wonderful.
“I knew it,” Vissarion murmured. “They brainwashed her into defecting,”
“No, they didn’t,” Novikke said.
“That is not a tactic the Varai are known to employ,” Kadaki said.
Vissarion glanced at the others almost furtively. “Look, she’s—she’s crazy, you know,” he said, and Novikke’s heart stuttered. “Officially. Havros told me. That’s why she’s still a courier. That’s a kid’s job. She does it because she’s not fit for anything else.”
They all looked over at her, waiting for her denial. She watched their expressions move from skepticism t
o surprise when she said nothing. She swallowed tightly.
“It’s not defecting to prefer to solve a problem nonviolently,” she said. “We decided to try to help each other instead of fighting. That’s all.”
Vissarion leaned forward, squinting at her. “Helping the enemy is exactly what ‘defecting’ means. You know that, right?”
Night Elves of Ardani: Book Two: Sacrifice Page 11
